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Scottish housing associations call for tenant hardship fund as government extends eviction legislation
The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) is asking the Scottish government to provide financial support for individuals struggling to pay their rent after it was announced that provisions protecting tenants from eviction are set to be extended until March next year.
Sally Thomas, chief executive at the SFHA, told Inside Housing the organisation has asked the Scottish government to introduce a tenant hardship fund to ensure individuals are still able to pay their rent while protections from eviction are in place.
She said landlords could “triage” arrears cases to distinguish which ones were related to COVID-19 so as “not to just have a blanket that everyone in arrears gets money to help them”.
Last week, Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon told MSPs that the government was planning to extend provisions put in place to prevent evictions until March next year, subject to legislation being passed by parliament.
Since March, notice periods for eviction in Scotland have been extended to six months for arrears cases and three months for anti-social behaviour cases.
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If the protections against eviction are extended, the SFHA is calling on anti-social behaviour cases to be excluded from the provisions.
Ms Thomas said: “The sector only ever evicts on the grounds of really bad anti-social behaviour anyway so we’re not looking for anything different, but we’re looking to have those powers because of the effects on neighbours and communities.”
She said she would also like to see the government improve its messaging around the provisions to make it clear that those who are able to must pay their rent.
“There is a tendency for the message to be blurred,” Ms Thomas said.
Latest data form the Scottish Housing Regulator found that rent arrears for housing associations averaged at 4.67% in June, with the highest landlord rent arrears sitting at 10.85%.
The Glasgow and West of Scotland Forum of Housing Associations has previously called on the Scottish government not to continue with the extended notice period for renters as it argued that the provisions have led to some tenants choosing not to pay rent.
The Scottish government has been approached for comment.
